Storm Eunice Update 18th February - Current Issues

Storm Eunice is gradually passing through our area and thankfully incidents so far have been below the worst case scenario the Council had been planning for. Below we highlight some of the current issues and messages from Torridge District Council and Partner Agencies.

Sea Defences

Our archive photo above shows previous flooding at Westward Ho! For Storm Eunice the Police and other blue light services are strongly urging wave watchers to stay away from the coast for the rest of today and over the weekend. People putting themselves in danger ties up resources that are needed elsewhere to deal with storm damage and the Council are asking people to respect this request and to please act responsibly!

High tide was around 7am this morning and our closest tide gauge at Port Isaac registered a 0.61m tidal surge.

The Bideford Bay Wave Buoy has fed back live data showing that wave heights had just tipped over the storm threshold level of 4.25m during high tide.

Westward Ho! has had some overtopping, but this has been limited to occasional large waves and the coast protection structures have performed as designed.

Power Supply Interruptions

We have received numerous reports of power supply failures to Households in Bideford, Great Torrington and other areas. It would appear that many of these issues are being fixed relatively quickly but you can check for incidents and estimated times for fixing on this web page https://powercuts.westernpower.co.uk/tweets

If you experience a power cut you should contact the electricity Distribution Network Operator (DNO) that covers your area - which across the majority of Torridge is Western Power. The Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DNO) is responsible for maintaining physical electricity supplies to your home or business. DNOs own and operate the distribution network of towers and cables that bring electricity from the national transmission network to homes and businesses. They don't sell electricity to consumers, this is done by the electricity retailers whose name appears on your bill.

The electricity network operators have introduced 105 - to give you an easy-to-remember number to call that will put you through to the local people who can help during a power cut. Please use this number to report a power cut.

Alternatively, you can find the details for all the electricity Distribution Network Operator companies on the Energy Networks Association postcode lookup tool.

For gas emergencies dial  0800 111999

Help for older and disabled people in case of power cuts - For future consideration you can get yourself or someone you care for on the Priority Services Register in case of power cuts - this is a free service provided by water and power suppliers for older and disabled people, or if you depend on electricity to keep medical or mobility equipment running.

Roads & Highways and Trains

Blocked roads due to fallen trees or other debris are also a real possibility over the coming days so the Council is urging extra care while out driving, particularly on minor roads where issues may not have been reported yet.

Devon County Council are responsible for Highways and you can report a highway or other issue such as flooding on their website here http://soc.devon.cc/bPUDW

We have been informed by the Regional Train operator - Great Western Railway that due to worsening conditions on their lines they have suspended all rail services. 

Customers should not therefore set out to travel and their teams are working hard to look after customers who have already started their journeys. Once it is safe, they will be clearing debris from lines so that they can try and restart services.  

Services are likely to remain suspended or disrupted for the rest of the day, and this will knock on into services tomorrow - Saturday 19th February. See https://www.gwr.com/about-gwr/info 

Flooding

Depending on what is flooding, you may need to contact us, the District Council, your water company or the Environment Agency Find out more on the government website https://www.gov.uk/report-flood-cause

18 February 2022